Shhhhhh Shhhhhh

 

Listening to the sound of the waves crashing in onto the Spanish shores helped him to relax. Soaking in the sunshine, he lay on a towel, eyes shaded by bright, red Raybans. It was like the salt water itself was slowly washing away his worries. He could forget the world if only for a few moments. For a while, time was no longer a problem. That was until his phone started ringing as if taunting him and reminding him that he still had to work. 

 

"Hello?"

 

"Hello sir, I've just got the deadline in and I have been informed that the project design is due a fortnight tomorrow."

 

"That's fine, thank you. Please inform Mr Kim that I will be sending him the file on a USB"

 

"Yes sir, have a safe trip"

 

After pulling on his Tshirt, he began to gather the rest of his belongings. Slinging his duffle bag over his shoulder, he made his way up the sandy beach towards his rented motorcycle. 

 

He was on a holiday in Spain but although away physically, he still had work sent to him from the company. His life revolved around his work. Day in, day out. He had only finished university a year ago but it felt as if he had been doing this same routine all his life. Employed by the designing department, he had to rely strongly on his creativity. This time, the target market was couples. The theme was romance but what could he do without any experience in such a thing himself? For him, the 14th of February was still Single Awareness Day. Valentines? What's that?

 

Somehow, somewhere along the line, he ended up coming to Barcelona for some inspiration. Perhaps it's silly that he didn't just goto the city of love itself in France. He needed a little vitamin D in his life and Spain? What a perfect way to do it. The sandy coasts, the bustling market and of course you can't forget all of the tourists. He was hoping that he might be inspired by the European culture. 

 

Pulling up outside the apartment building, he was in luck to find a space just large enough for his vehicle. He was glad that he had chosen to rent a motorcycle rather than a car because finding a space to park in Barcelona was like finding a needle in a hay stack. Near impossible. 

 

Punching in the code to the apartment building, he pushed open the door and found himself in the foyer. When he stepped into the lift, he felt like a caged hen. It wasn't the largest lift he had seen. Finally reaching his floor, he punched in the same code before coming to a hallway. Finding his apartment, he swiped the door with his key card and walked in. He wasn't sure whether he should be thankful for all the security precautions that this particular apartment complex had in place or whether they were just annoying. Although it was only his first day in Barcelona, just the amount of times he had to punch in those codes in the morning had made him memorise them. It scared him that he practically knew them better than his own phone number. 

 

When he got in, he got into the shower. He was meeting up with his friends who had been keen to follow him to Barcelona. Lucky for them, they didn't have a project design to worry about. When he got out of the shower, he began to dress himself. He had to think carefully about what he wore as the climate in Barcelona was unlike Korea. At night, it was still fairly warm. In the end, he came to a decision of wearing a simple tshirt, shorts and flip flops. To top it off, he wore an LA SnapBack. 

 

In the blink of an eye, the sky was already dark. Upon receiving a text, he slid his phone and wallet into his pocket before heading out. He met with his two best friends Chansung and Taecyeon outside the building. 

 

The three of them made there way towards a long, wide path. This particular walk way was filled with crowds of people shuffling around. There were stalls on each side selling souvenirs from T-shirts to key rings. Strolling down the path, they decided to stop for some dinner. The waiter led them to their table at the side of the path. At the table next to them, there were three girls whom didn't appear to be locals. After ordering their meal of paella and seafood, they overheard confusion at the table next to there own. 

 

"P-p.. Pa.. How do you say this guys?" One muttered in Korean, confusion in her voice. 

 

"Excuse me sir can I help you? We speak Korean" Nichkhun said as he stood up beside the Waiter. 

 

"Oh thank you sir these customers seem to have trouble ordering. Would it be okay for you to translate?"

 

"Oh you're able to speak English? I didn't realise that we could have just ordered in English.." one of the girls muttered in surprise. 

 

Sitting back down in his seat, Nichkhun let out a chuckle. 

 

"Most people in Barcelona can I guess it's because they get so many tourists" he grinned. 

 

"Thanks for your help anyway"

 

Nodding his head, he returned to conversing with his friends. After ordering their food, they paid the bill and were ready to leave. 

 

They continued to make their way down the path gazing at all of the stalls. As they walked down the path, they noted their surroundings. Some girls in front of them were pulled aside by two guys in orange shirts obviously trying to hit on them asking them if they wanted to go our for a drink. To nobody's surprise, they had turned them down despite the persistence of the men. That's when Nichkhun noticed how many of them there were. Every so often he would walk past a bunch of girls and boys in orange tshirt a laughing and chattering. 

 

He had seen it in movies a lot but he hadn't seen people actually hit on others in real life before despite having been out with Taecyeon and Chansung a few times. He felt like a .. What's the term? Noob?

 

Chansung spotted a Barcelona football tshirt that he wanted to buy so they all stopped at the stall looking to buy three to keep as souvenirs. Suddenly, somebody bumped into Nichkhun and he spun around. 

 

"Oh sorry"

 

Nichkhun made a mental note that it was the girls from the restaurant earlier. He sure felt like a hero today. What was the situation this time? Looking at all of the faces he noted some guys in orange tshirts. Immediately, he understood the situation. They were probably being hit on. 

 

"Sorry they're with us" Nichkhun said as Taecyeon and Chansung emerged behind him. Perfect timing..

 

"Boyfriends? Damn not cool! Sorry man." One of the boys muttered in a heavy Jersey accent before walking off with his matching tshirt pal.

 

"Actually we're not.."

 

"Saved the day again" 

 

Taecyeon gave a toothy grin. 

 

"You girls should probably be careful. You are probably aware but the people in the orange tshirts? Steer clear."

 

"No Sherlock"

 

"Where are you headed?"

 

"Nowhere in particular, it's our first night here. We just flew in from Korea this morning"

 

"Woah.. What a coincidink..." Nichkhun murmured. 

 

"Coincidink indeed" one girl laughed.